Lensbaby brings 'Sweet Spot ' selective focus lens to iPhone

Lensbaby is well known among DSLR photographers for its array of special-effect lenses. Now the Portland, Oregon-based company wants to expand into mobile photography and has launched a Kickstarter project to fund the final development stage of its Lensbaby Sweet Spot lens.

The Sweet Spot lens attaches magnetically to the camera of your iPhone 4s, 5, 5s or 5c and provides the effect of the original Lensbaby. It allows you to put the focus on one point of the image which is then surrounded by blur that becomes gradually stronger towards the edges of the frame. You can see the effect in the samples below.

Image: Caitlyn Crislip

Image: Lauren Wilcox

Image: Caroline Jensen

Image: Keri Friedman

The lens comes with an anodized aluminium body and is magnetic on both ends, so you can attach other magnetic accessory lenses, for example fisheye, wide-angle or telephoto lenses, on top of it and adjust the focal length and effect.

When shooting with the Sweet Spot lens and Apple's camera app, the image will be upside down which is why Lensbaby includes a free app that flips the image right-side up. The app also comes with tools that let you move the sweet spot of focus around the image and apply image filters.

Project backers can pre-order the lens for $50 which is $20 less than the future retail price. Watch the video below to see the Sweet Spot lens in action or go to the Kickstarter page to back the project.

Comments

You say your users requested you to get out an equivalent for their smartphone cameras, and you chose to come up for iPhone only. Out of all the best cameras out there on smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 1020 being the king, you still chose the iPhone. I understand you want profit in numbers.. and even then the iPhone is not the most selling smartphone. So... what else could the reason be... because... your management is full of Apple fanboys?

an an individual model the iPhone (current model) is arguably the most sold smartphone. Samsung might sell more phones in total, but they are not all S4s or S5s. So it makes total sense for any accessory manufacturer to at least in a first step focus on the iPhone and unsursprisingly that's what most of them do...

Somebody hurry up and make these types of accessories for Lumia Pureview phones. My 1520 19mp camera easily outmatches the iPhone, and the 1020 does even better, yet I don't see any add-on lens solutions for these capable camera phones.

I'm going to start a kickstarter campaign ... I'm not sure what the products will be yet, but I have a name: Crapture. Dedicated to helping you make the worst photos imaginable. I know I'll have a lot of competition, but I think if I misfocus on it, I can help you succeed at failing miserably.

I am not sure how familiar you are with Kickstarter, Indiegogo and other crowd funding platforms but that is how it usually works. The product is cheaper when you pre-order because you help fund its development. It's more expensive at market launch which of course does not mean the price can't be lowered at a later point in the product cycle, as happens with most products.